Socket for electric lamps



Agg. 2o, 1940.

J. wERTzHElsER 2,212,382 SOCKET FOR ELECTRIC LAMPS Filed March 17, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l I ll 71 'lll/lill. 'Il

Auz- 20,l 1940 J. wERTzHElsER y SOCKET FOR ELECTRIC LAMPS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 17, -1937 7 1NvENToR.

ya 27 z BY ORNEYS' v25 bulb (not shown).

Patented Aug. 20, 1940 PATENT OFFICE SOCKET AFOR ELECTRIC LAMPS Joseph Wertzheiser, Bronx, N. Y., assignor to Leviton Manufacturing Company, Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 17, 1937, Serial No. 131,283

1 Claim. (C1. 173-354) 1 This invention relates to a lamp socket that can be enclosed in the standard caps and shells. This lamp socket embodies a switch mechanism that can be operated by a pull chain or other switch operating mechanism to open and close the circuit through the lamp.

The invention will be understood from the description in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side View of an illustrative embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3

is a section at right angles to Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a section along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is I a plan view of the lower sideof one oi the members of the socket; Fig. '1 is a section somewhat similar to Fig. 4 but showing other parts and also omitting some parts; Fig. 3 is a section along the line 8-8 of Fig. 3; Fig. 9 is a plan View of the make and break member; Fig'.A 10 is a perspective view of the same; and Fig. 11 is a side View at right angles to Fig. 1.

In the drawings, reference character I0 indicates a screw shell of the usual sort for av lamp Fiber disks I2 and I3 are vattached to the upper end of the shell I0 by screws I4 and I5 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) which extend into threaded openings I6'and l1 respectively in the line terminals I8 and 2U.

3o The line terminal I8 is provided with a binding screw I9 for one side of the line, this terminal I8 being kept in place by the screw I4. The other terminal 20 for the other side of the line is provided with a binding screw 2| and is kept in place by the screw I5. The screw shell I0 is provided with the usual slot 22 (Figs. 1 and 3) at the bottom and adjacent sides.

A horn 23 is provided with a grooved plate 23 (Figs. 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 11) by means of which it is held in place and a pull chain 24 having an enlarged bead 24', to prevent accidental displacement of the chain, passes through the horn 23 for operating the switch mechanism to be described. The horn 23 vis held in place by its plate 23 being clamped between the liber disk I3 and a thick disk 25 (Figs. 1, 3, 5 and 11) that may be made of porcelain or other insulating material. Projections 26 along the lower edge of the plate 23 extend into openings 21 provided therefor in the disk I3 and a projection 28 on the upper edge of the plate 23 extends into an opening 28 in the lower side of the disk 25.

An arcuate recess 29 (Figs. 1, 3, 6 and 11) extends along the lower edge of the disk 25. Axially extending recesses 30 and 3I (Figs. 2 and 6) are provided along the edges of the disk 25 and are aligned with the terminals I8 and 20, respectively, so that lead wires can be attached to these terminals by passing them through these recesses inside of the usual shellthat encloses'5 the socket. Notches 32 and 33 are provided in the disk 25 at the lower ends of the recesses 3l) and 3| to accommodate the ends of the line terminals I8 Aand 2l) respectively. An integral extension 34 (Figs. `3, 6 and 11) is provided along 1'() the lower side of the disk 25 near its edge but 01T set toward the center from the recess 29.

vThe plate 23 of the horn rests against this extension 34.

A circular opening 35 (Figs. 2, 3 and 6) is pro- 15 vided in the lower side of the disk 25 and a small hole 36 is provided at the center of this opening. An opening 31 extends through the disk 25 and is provided with a countersink 38 at its upper end. A screw bolt 39 extends through holes in 2 the bottom of the shell` IIJ, aligned holes in the o disks I2 and I3, and the hole 31 in the disk 25, and clamps the parts together on a three point support for the disk 25 consisting of plate 23 u and line terminals I8 and 20, the bolt 39 lying 25 inside of a circle passing through these three supports. The bolt 39 screws into a square nut 39 in the square countersink 33.

A plurality of projections 40 (Fig. 1) are formed on the bottom of the screw shell IU made by indenting the metal from the inside and these projections extend into corresponding openings 4I providedin the disk I2 to prevent the shell I0 and disk I3 from being accidentally turned With respect to each other.

A center spring contact 42 (Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, '7, 35 8 and 11) of thin metal is attached to the disk I3 by means of the rivet 43 and has a portion thereof extending through a hole 44 in the disk I3 and terminating in an arcuate contact portion 45 which slopes upwardly in an anti-clockwise 40 direction as viewed from the upper end of the socket or as viewed in Figs. 4, 7 and 8. The eX- tremity or exit end of this portion 45 for a switch rests upon a solid portion of the disk I3. One edge of the disk I2 (Fig. 2) is out away, as shown 45 at 46, to accommodate the center contact 42 and an opening 41 is provided in this disk I2 for passage of the head of the screw I5 so that this disk I2 can be easily slipped into place.

One end 48 (Figs. 2, 7 and 8) of a thin switch 50 contact 'member is fastened to the bottom of the disk I3 by the head of the screw I5. IThis switch contact member passes through an arcuate opening 49 in the disk I3 and its switch contact end 55 50 is similar to the contact end 45 with one end thereof resting upon a solid portion of this disk. It is spaced 180 from the contact end 45.

A shaft 5| (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) for theswitch mechanism passes through a hole 52 in the disk i3 and fits snugly in this hole. The enlarged flat head 53 of the shaft 5I is securely clamped between the disks l2 and H3 so that the shaft 5| is prevented from turning or being pulled to the side. The disks l2 and I3 are sufciently flexible so that they can be brought into close contact with each other even with a portion of the center contact 42, the end of the contact member 48 and the fiat head 53 located between them.

The upper end of the shaft 5| extends loosely into the hole 36 in the disk 35, but the shaft remains firmly held in place with its head 53 clamped between the disks l2 and i3 even when the disk 25 is removed. The shaft 5| is reduced in size and made square near one end, as indicated at 54 to accommodate a bifurcated stop 55 for the spring 56. This biiurcated stop is slipped on the attened portion ofV this shaft from the side and can be used for adjusting the tension of the spring. A lug or catch 5l is provided on the stop 55 for the end 56 of the spring 56. The other end 56" (Figs. 3, 4, 7 and 8) of this spring extends into a hole 58 in a switch operating lever 59 that is formed from a iiat piece of ber that is provided with a hole by means of which this lever is journaled on the shaft 52 and is permitted to move up and down on this shaft as this spring 56 is compressed and expands. A metal link 6U connects the outer end of the lever 59 to the pull chain 24.

A switch closing member 6| (Figs. 2, 3, 9 and 10) is revolubly mounted on the sha-ft 5|. It is provided with oppositely disposed bent down contact arms 62. These contact arms are provided with elongated sloping ends 63 for contacting with the sloping ends 45 and 50 of the contacts 42 and 48. Oppositely disposed struck up tongues 64 (Figs. 9 and l0) are pro-vided on the side of the switch member between the arms 62. Four equally spaced openings 65 (Figs. 4 and 7) are provided in the lever 59 surrounding the shaft 5|. The ends of the tongues 64 catch against the edges of the openings 65 when the switch lever 59 is turned in one direction, but this lever rides over these tongues when it turns in the other direction, due to the fact that the spring 56 yields. Oppositely spaced openings 6`| and 68 (Fig. 8) are provided in the disk I3 between the openings 44 and 49, so that the edges of these four openings provide stops in four positions for preventing the switch member 6| from being turned backwards.

The operation is as follows:

The parts are shown in the circuit closing position in Fig. 2, thecurrent passing from the terminal 20, screw I5, contact member 48, circuit closing member 6| and its arm 62, center contact member 42, the lamp (not shown), shell |0, screw I4 (Fig. 3), to the other terminal I8. In this position of the switch 6|, the lends of. the sloping portions 63 of the arm 62 prevent the switch from being turned backwards.` When the pull chain is pulled, the lever 59 turns the switch 6| in an anti-clockwise direction (Figs. 4 and 7), thus causing the contact portions 63 o the arm 52 to drop into the openings 6l and 68 between` theones in which the contacts 44 and 50 are located, thus breaking the circuit. When the pull chain is released the spring 56 returns this lever 59 to the position where its edge contacts with the terminal I8, during which time this lever rides over the tongues 64 so that these tongues -snap into the next pair of openings 65 in this lever. The next pull of the chain 24 turns the switch member 6| another quarter revolution, thus again closing the switch.

I claim:

In a lamp socket, a base and a cap both of insulating material and spaced apart, said base being formed of two non-frangible disks, a shaft extending between said base and cap and having one end loosely received in a recess in said cap and having the other end extending through one of said disks, an enlarged head on said shaft .disposed between the disks, means securing said disks together in clamping Contact with opposite sides of said head to hold the shaft against rotatio-n or reciprocation in respect to the base, means securing said base and cap together in spaced relation and with said first-named end of the shaft in said recess, and a switch mechanism in said space, part of said mechanism being rotatably supported on said shaft.

JOSEPH WERTZHEISER. 

